


Bath: #3

by Ignisentis



Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: A Massive Bathtub, Idiots in Love, M/M, Steve's Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, soft and sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-22 15:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22285051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisentis/pseuds/Ignisentis
Summary: Steve comes home from a difficult mission and doesn't handle it very well. Bucky helps him come back to himself.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: 32 Ways To Say I Love You [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602352
Comments: 29
Kudos: 238





	Bath: #3

**Author's Note:**

> **this installment features an unhealthy coping mechanism by Steve in the form of a cold shower**
> 
> Welcome to part 3 of "32 Ways To Say I Love You," a series of fluffy ficlets wherein Steve and Bucky are happy, in love, and soft with each other. I'll be posting one a day from now until Valentine's Day, like the hopeless romantic I am.
> 
> Set in a magical time after Age of Ultron where everyone gets along, nothing hurts, and the Avengers live in the Tower. Because the world is a tire fire, and I think we all could use something nice.
> 
> This is also an attempt to get my writing mojo back, so if you have an idea you want to see here, hit me up on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Ardeospina) and I'll see what I can do! Or just come yell at me there about soft boys being soft. That's fun, too.

The mission was short but incredibly intense, based on the information Jarvis gave Bucky in his regular updates. He rushes to the door to welcome Steve home when Jarvis announces the team has landed safely and were heading to their floors, with the exception of Clint, who was going to medical. No surprise there.

Bucky paces in the entryway while he waits for Steve to get off the elevator, stopping and squaring his shoulders when the elevator arrives at their floor. He wasn’t sure what kind of Steve was going to walk through the door.

The elevator finally opens, and Steve steps off, dirty and blood-spattered and exhausted. He flicks his eyes at Bucky before dropping them to the floor again as his shoulders hunch up practically to his ears. 

Ah. One of  _ those _ days. 

Bucky smiles softly at Steve before turning back toward their apartment. He reaches the door first and opens it, leaving it open so Steve can follow behind. Bucky watches Steve move through the apartment on autopilot, walking straight down the bedroom hallway. Bucky detours to the kitchen and grabs a chocolate banana protein shake, Steve’s favorite, shaking it as he goes to follow him.

Steve has disappeared from view by the time Bucky makes it to the hallway. He checks their bedroom first but Steve isn't there, so he heads to the laundry room, and sure enough, Steve is in there pulling off pieces of his uniform. He's down to his under-uniform compression layer when Bucky walks in. Steve freezes and tilts his head down again, but he doesn't move away when Bucky approaches him with the shake.

“Drink this,” Bucky says, reaching down to take Steve’s fist and gently unclench his fingers before wrapping them around the cold plastic bottle. Steve huffs derisively, and Bucky lets him, bringing his hands together around Steve’s and rubbing a few soft circles on his thumb before letting go. 

“Drink,” Bucky repeats softly. “Then shower.”

Steve sighs but nods, which is a better response than Bucky expected, so he nods back and turns to walk out the door. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Steve raise the protein shake to his lips and start drinking. Bucky smiles to himself and goes through their bedroom into the en suite bathroom. He opens the linen closet and pulls out the basket of soaps and shampoos he keeps in there, rummaging through until he finds the lavender ones he’s looking for. He flips open the shampoo lid and takes a deep breath, the smell of lavender dulling the sharp edges Steve’s mood sometimes pulls to the surface. It’s not Steve’s fault, and Bucky likes being able to help Steve like this, it’s just...they both know they have to be careful to make sure they don’t accidentally set each other off when one of them is having a really bad day.

Steve doesn’t give two shits about what bath products he uses, the heathen, but Bucky does, and he knows the lavender will help, even if Steve won’t really notice. He takes the lavender products and replaces the soap and shampoo that were already in their massive shower stall, tucking those into the basket before putting it back in the linen closet.

Steve is just coming into the hallway when Bucky walks out of their bedroom, so he steps aside and lets Steve shuffle past him. Steve’s down to his underwear, and Bucky uses the opportunity to check his body for injuries. He’s got some bruising on the left side of his torso that hasn’t faded yet, so he must have taken a pretty hard hit. Bucky wonders if he cracked any ribs. There are a few pale, silvery lines on his skin that were cuts recently, but they’ve healed over already, so they must have been shallow. They won’t even be noticeable by tomorrow.

Satisfied that Steve isn’t too hurt, Bucky leaves Steve to his shower. He goes down to his bedroom: he hasn’t used it in ages, but Steve insisted that he keep his own space in case he wanted or needed it, and Bucky appreciated the gesture, so he didn’t argue. Plus, the bathtub in Bucky’s en suite bathroom is massive, way bigger than the one in their bedroom, and Bucky was too fond of it to ever give it up.

Bucky finds his favorite citrus-scented bubble bath and pours a bunch into the tub before stopping it up and turning on the water as hot as it will go. He sits on the edge of the tub for a minute to make sure the bubbles are doing their thing and the water is getting hot enough. Satisfied, he gets up and heads back to the laundry room to get Steve’s uniform together so Tony’s staff can take care of it. 

Bucky washes the dirt and blood off his hands when he’s done with Steve’s uniform, then stops to listen for the shower. It’s still running. Bucky frowns. Steve usually gets in and out after a mission, unless something went wrong and he feels the need to punish himself by standing under the cold spray.

“Jarvis, please stop the water in my bathroom when it’s at a good level and won’t overflow when the tub is occupied.”

_ “Very good, sir,” _ Jarvis answers as Bucky heads back to get Steve out of the shower. He opens the bathroom door soundlessly and goes to the linen closet to get a fresh, fluffy bath sheet. 

Steve flinches when Bucky opens the shower door, so Bucky runs a soothing hand down his flank before reaching past him to turn off the spray. The water is cold, just as he suspected.

“Come on out,” Bucky says, grabbing Steve’s wrist loosely and tugging gently. Steve comes, but he still won’t meet Bucky’s eyes. Bucky doesn’t mind. He knows Steve will get there when he’s ready.

Steve’s dripping on the bath mat, eyes closed as rivulets of water flow down his face from his hair. He doesn’t make a move to wipe them away, so Bucky picks up the towel and does it for him.

“Shh,” Bucky shushes when Steve grunts. “It’s okay. I’m here.” Bucky wraps the bath sheet around Steve’s shoulders and uses it to dry him lightly, pulling the edges toward his head to dry his hair a little so it isn’t dripping as much. He wants to use the towel to pull Steve to him, wrap his arms around him, tuck Steve’s face into his neck and let him breathe Bucky in. It’s what he would want if he were in Steve’s position.

But Steve isn’t ready for that quite yet, so instead Bucky tugs on the towel and says, “follow me” before leading Steve to his bathroom. The bath is just about ready, bubbles foamy and fragrant, so Bucky leads Steve toward the tub and has him sit on the edge. He’s still shivering, even wrapped in the giant towel, but not as badly as he was right out of the shower, at least. 

Bucky lights a few candles and dims the lights before the water cuts out and the bath is ready. Perfect. Bucky pads back over to Steve, who leans into him when Bucky gets close, which is a good sign. Bucky leans down and kisses the top of Steve’s head, unwrapping the towel from his body. 

“Climb in,” Bucky says, holding Steve’s hand to help him balance, not that he needs it. Steve sighs as he sinks into the water, scooting to the end of the tub where he leans back and closes his eyes. He got some bubbles on his chin, and Bucky smiles as they slowly pop. He watches Steve soak in the water for a few minutes, watches as his shoulders gradually drop and he relaxes. He’s ready.

Bucky undresses and sets his clothes in a messy pile on the bathroom counter before sliding into the tub to join Steve. He’s still leaning against the tub with his eyes closed, not even opening them to acknowledge Bucky’s entry into the bath, and he looks relaxed. He’s not shivering anymore, and the lines he gets between his eyebrows when he frowns have smoothed away.

Bucky crawls over to Steve and climbs into Steve’s lap, situating himself so he’s sitting across Steve’s thighs and can lean against his torso. Steve sighs again, so Bucky snuggles in closer, tucking his head into Steve’s neck and wrapping his arms around his body. 

He sat on Steve like this one time at Avengers movie night, and Sam had called him “a swole weighted blanket,” and he feels a little bit like that now; like his weight is holding Steve’s body in place while the rest of him floats in peace. Bucky matches his breathing to Steve’s and closes his own eyes, listening to the slow beat of Steve’s heart as the dull orange glow of the candlelight flickers behind his eyelids. 

The water is still warm when Bucky feels Steve’s arms wrap around his waist, one big hand sliding its way up his back a little. Steve pulls him closer, a happy noise rumbling in his chest as he does. Bucky huffs a little and smiles into Steve’s collarbone.

“Hey,” he says. “Welcome back.”

Steve grunts lightly and squeezes his hands, pushing his fingers into Bucky’s flesh briefly before he relaxes them. He tips his head onto Bucky’s before turning to press a kiss into Bucky’s forehead.

“Thank you,” he says, voice thick with disuse and emotion.

“Yeah,” Bucky whispers back. “Yeah.”

  
  
  



End file.
